The General Treasury Building (also known as the ''Treasury'' or the ''Treasury Building'') is the building that houses the Treasury of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development along with several of its departments. It was formerly known as the ''Secretariat Building'' therefore it is still officially called The Secretariat. It is situated in the

Colombo fort Fort (Colombo) (Sinhala: ; Tamil: ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE ...

precinct next to the old Parliament Building, which is now the Presidential Secretariat.

Building

With the expansion of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

, the need for a new building to house the council and the civil administration of Ceylon was suggested by

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Henry McCallum Sir Henry Edward McCallum, GCMG (28 October 1852 – 24 November 1919) was a British colonial governor. Biography McCallum attended the Royal Military College in Woolwich and began his colonial service career in 1874. He was Colonial ...

. A proposal made by a committee to construct the new building for the Secretariat, Council Chamber and Government offices on reclaimed land at the northern end of Galle Face' was accepted by the Ceylon Government in 1920. The chief architect of the Public Works Department, Austin Woodeson, was responsible for the design of the building. The initial estimate of Rs 400,000 for the scheme was later revised by the Public Works Advisory Board to Rs 450,000, taking into account the extra expenses involved. The building was opened on 29 January 1930, by Governor

Herbert Stanley Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia. Life and career Born in England, Stanley ...

. The new building was of two parts, the smaller but grander

Council Chamber A debate chamber is a room for conducting the business of a deliberative assembly or otherwise for debating. When used as the meeting place of a legislature, a debate chamber may also be known as a council chamber, legislative chamber, assembly ...

with a

Neo-baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

façade, which faced the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

to the west. The Secretariat, a larger however the more simple building compared to the Council Chamber situated to the east of it. The

was to house Legislative Council, however it was only for a year as the Legislative Council was replaced by the more powerful

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

in 1931. The Secretariat housed the civil administration of the colony, with the offices of the Colonial Secretary and the

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

along with their staff and several government departments. Effectively the two building became the centre of the government of the island for the next twenty years till Ceylon gained independence in 1949. For many years after independence the headquarters of the CID of the

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

was based here on the fourth floor which gain much ill fame. Following independence, new government ministries and departments were set up to carry out policy formulated by the Cabinet of Ministers. Many key departments were housed here including the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance. Soon many of the government ministries and departments moved out of the building to new buildings due their expansion. By the 1950s the building was known as the ''General Treasury'' and by the 1980s the building was completely occupied by the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

and its departments.

Building extensions

This building is undergoing a process of extension. Construction project is handled (Consulted) by Consultancy Division of state Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka.

References

External links

Treasury of Sri Lanka
{{Colombo fort, state=collapsed Government buildings in Colombo British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Government buildings completed in 1930

Building

Building extensions

See also

References

External links